United Democratic People's Republic of Korea
'' The United Democratic People's Republic of Korea, abbreviated UDPRK or simply Korea, was an East Asian power in The Multipolar World played by Nukeknockout. Although it ranked as one of the most industrialized and economically independent countries of the 2150s, prior to its accession into the Comintern it remained politically insular and developed an early antipathy toward the Kingdom of Hawai'i over what it saw as undue interference by Honolulu in regional affairs. Korea was the victim of successive nuclear strikes in the latter half of the game that some players suggest spurred its participation in the Indian Betrayal, and by Turn 13 the state only barely survived by virtue of its colonial resettlement in post-Holocaust Japan. The UDPRK did not return in Multipolarity II as Nukeknockout did not participate in the game; however, the epilogue establishes the NPC Best Korea as its direct descendent. History The United Democratic People's Republic of Korea was created when the warlord Kim Sil overpowered his regional competitors at an unknown date prior to the game's launch. Its authoritarian governmental tradition, uncompromising in the promotion of national self-interest, meant that it was generally averse to international politics and became especially hostile to the Union of Nations following the adoption of Resolution 4 in 2156. Nonetheless, it attempted to promote itself as a neutral mediator in disputes between the Kingdom of Hawai'i and regional Asiatic powers, although this policy was quickly abandoned in the face of Hawai’ian obstinacy during and after the Phony War. Korea reached its zenith under its first female Dictator, Aung Jim-Tong. Following the abolition of the Chinese constitution in 2164, Seoul joined the coalition forces in the Pan-Asiatic War. During this time it established formal, albeit secret ties with the Scarlet Lancers, who had been 'hired' by Ürümqi to destabilize Korea in advance of a military invasion but that had no intention of honouring the contract. Korea and the Lancers devised an elaborate false-flag operation to lure the Chinese into a trap, but the government capitulated before the ruse was needed. In 2165, Lighthearter ragequit. Korea was almost completely obliterated by nuclear fallout, surviving through a small enclave in the north of the peninsula and its colonial toehold in Japan. With the presumed death of Jim-Tong, Foreign Minister Tochiro, who was outside Seoul at the time, declared himself "acting dictator". Korea adopted militant and domestically regressive policies as part of a brute force strategy to salvage the country that included the wholesale ban on women in the workforce. In 2169 for reasons still unclear, Korea, in conjunction with Oz, invaded their fellow ally India in what some observers believe was a land grab motivated by both aggressors' losses in the Hawai'ian attack. The invasion ruined both countries' international reputation and cast a dark shadow over the integrity of the Comintern. Korea's acquisitions were short-lived, as Partitionania, for reasons likewise unclear, launched a full nuclear strike against the Comintern in 2173. The fallout virtually destroyed the Indian subcontinent, reducing habitable Korean territory to Lakshadweep and the Koshikijima Islands. While dissipating fallout allowed for recolonization of Honshu in later years, Korea never recovered within the formal run of the game. Politics Government Korean political tradition stemmed from the warlordism that plagued the region following the Cataclysm. Justifying itself based on the need for efficient management of limited resources to overcome the hostile environment, the Korean government adhered to a generally communist ideology that preached total deference to an absolute ruler as a means of safeguarding communal welfare. Leadership succession was determined by possession of the Dictatorial Ring, and the person that first found the corpse of the previous Dictator typically inherited the position. This technicality was exploited by then-Foreign Minister Tochiro to proclaim himself acting Dictator while Seoul was too irradiated to search for Jim-Tong's body. There was no ethnic or even political qualification for the position: thus Anna Sinclair, an army lieutenant in a UN aid mission, became Korea's 12th Dictator despite not being a Korean citizen. The Dictator's ability to wield personal power was not absolute, however, as much of the state apparatus was managed invisibly by a figure known as Tassadar, and dictators that refused to co-operate with her agenda were quickly killed off: of the twelve Dictators during the game's formal run, nine were assassinated by Tassadar. In a testament to the competence of this shadow government, Korean politics remained stable despite the turnover rate of its heads of state. Law The Korean judiciary consisted of a panel of legal experts known as the Arbiters. Nominally independent from the Dictator, their actual authority was unclear, although the Dictator customarily sought their advice in crafting policy. The criminal system in Korea, if a system even existed, was unknown; in one RP segment, Kizzie mentions that Korea doesn't even have prisons. Foreign relations Korea was a staunch defender of socialism and an early member of the Comintern. Due in large part to its post-apocalyptic context, it was adverse to states exhibiting high social and/or economic inequality. It was especially hostile toward the Kingdom of Hawai'i for the latter's aggressive, "imperialistic" foreign policy in Asia and general unwillingness to compromise in diplomatic negotiations, which led to repeated obstacles in the Pan-Asiatic War and scuttled the Dublin Conference. Foreign relations deteriorated under the interim rule of Tochiro in the late 2060s, as Korea retrenched itself diplomatically at the same time it vastly expanded the vision and scope of its military. It briefly withdrew from the Comintern and joined the Warsaw Pact, only to swap back three years later due to a "drunken bet" by Tochiro. The most infamous incident during this period and the nadir of Korean reputation was its joint invasion of India, which led to widespread denouncement of and sanctions against the Comintern. Following Tochiro's death in 2171 and the emergence of Anna Sinclair as Dictator the following year, Korea attempted to repair relations worldwide, notably recognizing the Polish government-in-exile despite Partitionania's nuclear attack the year previous. Korea maintained positive relations with the Co-operative Federation of Xinjiang since its founding in 2165. Notably, it publicly endorsed the Scarlet Lancers as Xinjiang's legitimate government, and communiqués with Xining addressed the Red Lotus specifically. This special relationship persisted through the Tochiro era: following the invasion of India, the Dictator wrote a personal apology to President Deming. Seoul continued to support the government-in-exile following the CRF invasion, denouncing the Otto monarchy as illegitimate and pledging unequivocal support to Security Council Resolution 32 and Operation Shah Mat. Category:Korean-speaking countries and territories Category:Asian countries Category:Countries in Multipolarity